Rolling with the Good Times: Navigating Baton Rouge’s Mardi Gras with Kids
by Ellen Mecholsky on
When my husband and I moved to Baton Rouge, we had absolutely no idea about Mardi Gras. I mean, sure, we had heard of “Fat Tuesday” and had the vague sense that beads were involved, but the Louisiana Mardi Gras EXPERIENCE was a complete unknown. That... Read full article
Can you be Cool in a Minivan?
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To my shock and dismay, Suburbans did not have four latch systems. Apparently, there are very few families looking to safely buckle a two-year-old and three newborns. Thus I began my journey into the minivan world.... Read full article
Play! Create! Imagine! (and then Clean. It. Up.)
by Ellen Mecholsky on
I walk a very fine line between wanting my children to play and create and imagine...and wanting/NEEDING a tidy house to function at my best. I need order around me to feel relaxed and productive. If I wake up in the morning and I am greeted by a tra... Read full article
The Remembering: Reflections on My Pregnancy Loss
by Ellen Mecholsky on
It starts the first week of December, the remembering. I had felt her move for the first time in the car driving home from a Thanksgiving trip to Florida, which is why I suspect my anniversary grief stress begins so early. I subsequently gave birth t... Read full article
The Moment I Became a Mom
by Amy Delaney on
There are many milestones in the international adoption process–home study completion, being matched with your child, receiving updates, getting the travel call. However, the single biggest milestone for me was never logged on a calendar, even though... Read full article
A Playdate-Style Birthday Party
by Mari Walker on
Birthday parties for littles can add up fast. For a few Benjamins, you can take them and a few friends to a bounce place or rent a bounce house for your backyard. We didn’t start big parties like that for my older daughter until she was about five.... Read full article
Pandemic Parenting, Amirite?
by Ellen Mecholsky on
I’m sitting here in front of my computer trying to think of something to write to all of you–something to lift up and inspire during this time of uncharted territory and endless new decision-making.... Read full article
Reading to Bump and Baby
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“My four year old reads at a third-grade level,” proudly beams Isaiah F.A. “Yesh” Cohen, Ph.D., a young father of three girls. “As we read certain words Rachel doesn’t know, I write them down so that she can learn them later. We’re working on the low... Read full article
I Smell Crawfish!
by Amy Delaney on
You never realize just how quiet winter is until the birds start chirping and squawking on the first days of spring. Recently, I had a similar experience when I smelled a familiar aroma floating over the fence in my neighborhood. Someone was boiling ... Read full article
Wiggles of Excitement
by Amy Delaney on
“I have a wiggly tooth.” That is all–a simple statement of fact shared during a school day discussion. After spending time with Little Bud for virtual learning, I have learned that a loose tooth in the world of a six year old means the world. It is l... Read full article